“Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying, ‘Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.’ He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, ‘As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.’ I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.’ Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.” – Psalm 2 (ESV)
A just and good question, indeed! “Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain…against the LORD and His anointed?” Can a human being truly believe he/she can rebel against the Almighty and win? What madness consumes a person’s mind when that person actually considers throwing off God’s claim on his/her life, let alone the sheer delusion that leads him/her to believe such folly could actually be accomplished? The notion is so ridiculous that God is said to laugh and deride mankind’s lunacy. Psalm 2 is a brief yet sobering explanation of the Creator / creature relationship that we experience, and very little commentary is needed to make God’s point any clearer. My urgent plea for you is to heed its clear message, dear reader.
The eternal truths provided by Psalm 2 are as follows…
- God is God, and you are a mere human being who wants rid of God and His ways from the depths of your being.
- God recognizes your rebellion, and you are accountable for it.
- God has appointed His own Son, Jesus Christ, as King to execute His righteous judgments upon such rebellion.
- God also appointed a gracious way to escape His righteous wrath against rebels like you. His Son, the King, extends mercy to those who turn to Him in love and faith.
- Lovingly embrace the Son before that final day of judgment comes and the Son executes God’s judgment.
Psalm 2 is an unvarnished view of the heart of mankind from the viewpoint of God’s throne. In very clear terms, God is telling us that He knows all too well what is in our hearts and minds. God knows that we desire to be rid of Him and His claims on our lives. God’s laughter at our arrogant lack of respect is justified. We see God as our supreme oppressor, the one who stands in our way of happiness and goodness. The truth is that God, our Creator, is the ultimate source of life, goodness, and joy, but we view Him in exactly the opposite light due to our sinful corruption. Examine your own heart and mind…You know all of this to be true, but you prefer your own path! Perhaps you’re thinking, “I don’t hate God or want rid of Him…This is all very harsh!” Ask yourself the following questions, and see how you respond. Be honest!
- Do you ever despise others for what they have and you do not have? God calls that “coveting”.
- Do you ever look at someone and have impure sexual desires for that person? God calls that lust, adultery, and even fornication of the heart even if not acted upon.
- Do you steal time or other resources from your employer? God calls that dishonesty and theft.
- Do you despise others in your heart for political beliefs, their ethnicity, etc.? God calls that hate.
- Do you see God as the ultimate source of your unhappiness, His “rules” ruin your life, lead to oppression and unhappiness for you and others, and the world as better off without Him? God calls that blasphemy.
The list could go on for many pages. Here is the point: Any time you desire to have things your way instead of what agrees with God’s Word, you want rid of God and His claim on your life. Think about how many times per day your own mind and heart struggle with your current situation and the self-centered ideas you consider to achieve your desires. If we are honest, many of our hopes and goals do not agree with the teachings of the Bible, God’s Word. We often fight off such evil thoughts and intentions either out of fear of punishment if we get caught, laws against it, etc. Sometimes, we do act on those thoughts and intentions, though.
To make matters worse, you know that such things are wrong, and you know that God will judge such things some day. The Apostle Paul makes this clear in his letter to the Roman believers. Notice how similar Paul’s description of the problem is with the description in Psalm 2.
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.” – Romans 1:18-32 (ESV)
Dear reader, please do not ignore these clear warnings. The Bible’s testimony is clear. God will judge sinners for their rebellion including sinful thoughts, words, intentions, and actions. Counted among those sinners are you and me. This message is not popular, it never has been, and it never will be among those who persist in their rebellion towards Almighty God. Ever since Adam’s and Eve’s sinful rebellion in the Garden of Eden, mankind has continually struggled to throw off God’s claims on his/her life. Mankind continually attempts to erase the distinctions between his/her Creator and the order that the Creator established for His creatures. In summary, mankind has wanted to sit in God’s seat since sin entered into the world. That is a summary of our rebellion: We want to be in God’s place despite the sheer delusion that drives such a desire.
My great hope and my most urgent plea is for you to consider the words of Psalm 2 very carefully, dear reader. God is not on our level, and He is not answerable to us. We are answerable to God as those created in His image. While the peril for those who remain in rebellion is both eternal and certain, the Son stands ready to provide refuge for those who see their sin, repent of it, and turn in faith to the Son to save them. The Psalmist’s description of “kissing” the Son is the opposite of the rebellion described in the earlier parts of Psalm 2. If you look to Jesus (God’s Son) and Him alone to save you from your sins, trusting in His finished work of dying on the cross for your sins, and rising again from the dead for your justification before God…You will be saved, dear reader. Run to Christ while it is still the day of salvation, and turn away from your hatred of God and love of self.
May Your Eyes Be Opened To Your Need of Christ,
Eric Conner
Photo by Brett Sayles from Pexels